Washington D.C. - Southern Lesbian Feminist Activist Herstory Project

Theresa Barry and Labrys Books: Virginia’s First Feminist Bookstore

Theresa Barry and Labrys Books: Virginia’s First Feminist Bookstore

Terri Barry (left) and Joan Mayfield at the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, 1979.

Theresa “Terri” Barry came out in 1976 when she was in her early twenties and still in college. That same year, she met her then-partner Joan Mayfield, and they decided to start a feminist bookstore. From 1977 to about 1980, she and Joan ran Labrys Books in the living room of their Richmond, Virginia, home. They chose the name Labrys, after the double headed ritual axe found in ancient Minoan depictions of the Mother Goddess. The bookstore was run with the support of the Richmond Lesbian Feminists, an organization that still exists today.

Posted on November 4, 2024 Posted in Publishing, Publications, and Booksellers, Uncategorized Tagged with Beth Marschak, Colevia Carter, dance, Joan Mayfield, Labrys Books, Ladyslipper, Lammas Books, Laurie Fuchs, Mary Farmer, Richmond, Richmond Lesbian Feminists, Terri Barry, The New York Times, Theresa Barry, USA Today, Virginia, Washington D.C., Women’s Political Caucus, WomensBooks

Ellen Spangler and Starcrest

Ellen Spangler and Starcrest

Ellen from Memorial

After finding feminism and feminist spirituality while living in Florida, Ellen Spangler founded a teaching and healing center in rural South Carolina.

Posted on June 29, 2023 Posted in Social Justice, Women’s Health, and Social Services, Spirituality and Religion Tagged with 1990 Census, A Ritual Declaring and Affirming Our Birth, abuse, age and wisdom honoring, Alapine Village, Alaska, Anderson South Carolina, barter, battered women’s shelter, Beverly Little Thunder, Boston, Carol Christ, channeling, chanting, Charlene Spretnak, Clemson University, Clinton Tennessee, Cloudland Georgia, collective, croning, cross country trip, ecofeminism, Ellen Spangler, Elsa Gidlow, energy, Equinoxes, feminist activist, first national womens spirituality conference, Florida State University, gardening, Georgia, grass and sod roof, hands-on healing, healing center, Illinois, inner-child work, intuition, Jacksonville Florida, Jean Adele, Kaimora, Kay Mora, Knox County Education Association, Lakota, Lesbian and Landdyke Documentary, lesbian residential community, lobbying, lobbyist, Maine, Margot Adler, Martha Stozier, Mary Alice Stout, Mary Daly, Mary Stout, meditation, Methodist ministers, Mississippi, Moon circles, Mountain Mamas consignment shop, native American Sundance, Native American women, negotiating contracts, One Bead at a Time, Owl Song, Pagoda, Pagoda cottages, Peace and Justice Center, Phoenix Arizona, psychic, rainbow colors, rape crisis center, Riane Eisler, Rose DeBernardo, Ruth Mountaingrove, sacred rototiller, seven chakras, singing, Sinister Wisdom, Solstices, South Carolina, spiritual leadership, Split Creek Goat Farm, St Augustine Florida, Standing Rock North Dakota, sweat lodges, The Chalice and the Blade, Through the Looking Glass, trance, trance work, two spirited Lakota Elder, underground house, Vermont, Washington D.C., Wiccan circles, women artists, women dancers, Women Earth and Spirit, women’s ceremonies, women’s council of the sweat lodges, women’s spirituality, workshops, Z Budapest

Top